Valentine
Considered one of the more successful British tank designs of the early war years, the Valentine series served both British and Soviet forces effectively. British forces first fielded the system in Operation Crusader, in which forces were sent to relieve their comrades at beleaguered Tobruk. The Valentine would prove its effectiveness as an infantry tank throughout Africa and in the jungles of Burma as well, showing up Japanese armor in the process. With over 8,000 produced of the type, the Valentine was a direct result of a British need to field an infantry tank based on the A10 design preceding it and to replace the aging Matilda tanks. Offered up as a proposal on St. Valentine's Day of 1938, the system was accepted into production thanks to the expediency to which it could be produced over the more complicated Matildas. Production began in 1940 in an effort to refit British units after heavy losses incurred throughout battles in France. The Soviet Union received some 2,690 models of the Valentine - most from Canadian production lines - whilst later replacing them en mass with American Shermans. Additionally, the Valentine system appeared with Indian, New Zealand and Free French forces on a variety of fronts. Valentine Mk II This version appeared in 1941 and twice as much were completed (700 in all). By June, "Valentine" was officialized. This version had a 6-cylinder AEC A190 diesel delivering 131hp but at lower rate and with more torque, and the autonomy was raised dramatically by adding a left-side external tank (one at the rear was more common practice). This became a trademark of the Valentine. ScreenShot42.jpg ScreenShot43.jpg ScreenShot44.jpg ScreenShot45.jpg ScreenShot46.jpg ScreenShot47.jpg ScreenShot48.jpg ScreenShot49.jpg Valentine Mk III The Valentine III appeared in late 1941 and was one of the most produced versions of the entire serie. The revolution came with a completely redesigned turret, with a new internal mantlet and an enlarged turret basket, giving the much needed extra room to accomodate a loader to operate the gun, freeing the commander for other tasks. As a compensation for the added weight, the side armour was somewhat downgraded from 60 to 50mm. The main gun was now a QF 2 pounder Mk.V. Unfortunately, this modification isn't presented on any map in FHSW. Valentine Mk III Gap Jumping Tank The Valentine Mk III Gap Jumping Tank was developed to overcome trenches or other obstacles. Eight rockets were attached to a Valentine Mk.III tank that generated enough power to take-off for a few seconds. Further developement was cancelled because it would not often land right side up. You launch the rockets with the alternate fire key on the second seat and maneuver with WASD. You can fly about 20 meters before the rockets overheat. With a good teamwork with the driver, you can also fly over rivers. But be aware that there’s a risk that the tank lands on its top when the ground isn’t flat. It can only be found on Alpenfestung at American main base and Operation Rattrap. gapValentine1.jpg gapValentine2.jpg gapValentine4.jpg gapValentine5.jpg gapValentine6.jpg Valentine Mk VIII Since the 2-pounder was found inadequate against the main german tanks by 1942, Vickers engineers worked frantically on a way to adapt the much more massive, long-barrel 6-pounder (57mm) into the cramped Mark III turret. They succeed in, but to the expense of the coaxial Besa machine-gun. The Mark VIII received the British AEC A190 diesel had also a somewhat downgraded armor. Small turret is weak and with slow firing rate gun, and also lacks the machine gun and grenade protection against infantry, but on the other hand, its ideally small silhouette, armor thickness and QF-6 pounder gun make it very effective in defence against enemy tanks. ScreenShot35.jpg ScreenShot36.jpg ScreenShot37.jpg ScreenShot38.jpg ScreenShot39.jpg ScreenShot40.jpg ScreenShot41.jpg The chassis of the base Valentine produced a plethora of variants. Some notable additions to the Valentine family would include the Scorpion Flail Tank, the Bishop self-propelled guns and training vehicles converted from amphibious designs. Additionally, the Valentine would appear in ten marks varying in engine types and armament. The series proved to be highly successful over their Japanese counterparts in the Pacific, particularly in Burma, though fighting equally well in desert environments. Derived vehicles in FHSW * Bishop: Self-propelled QF 25 pounder howitzer on the chassis of Valentine Category:British Equipment Category:Medium tanks Category:Soviet Equipment Category:Soviet Ground Vehicles